Eagle (Hebrew: nesher; Arabic: niss’r, “to tear with the beak” ) Eagles are found in all parts of the world, and there are several species in Palestine. 1. Imperial. 2. Short-toed. 3. Golden. 4. Spotted. 5. White-tailed. 6. Bonelli’s eagle. 7. Gier eagle, or Egyptian vulture, and others. The nesher is not an eagle, but a griffon-vulture, which is found in all hot countries of the old world. It measures nearly five feet; eight feet extent of wing. The allusion in Matthew ( Matthew 24:28), “wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together,” refers to vultures, because eagles do not gather more than two or three, while vultures assemble in large flocks. Its bare head is alluded to in Micah 1:16. Job mentions its strong eye-sight and wing ( Job 39:27-30). “The cliffs are perforated with caves at all heights, wholly inaccessible to man, the secure resting place of hundreds of noble griffons.” (Tristram, Land of Israel.) This gorge was the one Josephus describes near Arbela as inhabited by robbers, who were dislodged with great labor and hard fighting. The god , specially worshiped by Sennacherib, the Assyrian, was a vulture-headed figure, with wings. Ezekiel and John use this vulture as one of the heads in their symbolic figure ( Ezekiel 10:14; Revelation 4:6). Its longevity is alluded to in <19A305> Psalm 103:5. “Thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s,” (nesher ). One was kept in Vienna 104 years. They are always in sight in the East, every day in the year. Its care for its young is twice used as an example of God’s fatherly care ( Deuteronomy 32:11; Exodus 19:4). The gier eagle ( Leviticus 11:18), called in Hebrew and Arabic rachah , and is the modern Pharaoh’s Hen, or Egyptian Vulture. It is migratory in Palestine, and ranges from Asia Minor to the Cape of Good Hope. The dayah is probably a kite ( Leviticus 11:14), of which four kinds are known in Palestine. ( ). The golden eagle lives in pairs only, and requires a wide range of country, five pairs occupying as much as twenty miles. It is smaller than the Griffon, and not so strong. The short-toed eagle is strong, heavy, and handsome, about two feet long, dark brown, and marked with black spots. There are twice as many of these as of all the other eagles put together in Palestine.

Eanes (1 Esdras 9:21 ). , and . Ear (“to plow” ) ( Deuteronomy 21:4; Isaiah 30:24. ) Earnest (Hebrew: arabon ), a pledge, security ( Genesis 38:17,18,20. Proverbs 17:18).

Earrings (Hebrew: nezem ). Ear-rings were made of gold, silver, brass or bronze, and glass, and in a great variety of forms, and varying in size from half an inch to three inches across. The nose ring is peculiar to the East, and is mentioned in Genesis ( Genesis 24:47), where Abraham’s servant gave one to Rebekah. Except the nose ring men wear nearly all of these ornaments among oriental nations, and have from remote antiquity, as appears on the monuments in Egypt and Assyria. Rings were especially used for purposes of superstition and idolatry. The ring of ABRAXAS is an instance of superstitious use, as adopted by Christian Gnostics, and the museums of Europe and America furnish a great many other curious specimens of similar designs. Rings, coins and medals are hung in strings around the neck, by the sides of the face, and across the forehead sewed to the edge of the tarbush ( ). Some ear-rings in the East are very large; two or even three inches across, and are loaded with pearls, precious stones, or glass. Earth (Hebrew: erets, Greek: Ge ). Land and water, the whole visible surface of the globe. The Hebrew writers often used the term as we now use it, if meaning a local and limited space ( James 5:17; Leviticus 4:25), and especially in the account of the crucifixion, where the darkness may have been over all the land of Israel, but probably, not over all the globe ( Matthew 27:45; Luke 23:44). Earthquakes Earthquakes have been frequent in all ages in Palestine, and their ravages may be traced at Aleppo (1616, 1812), Antioch (1737), Laodicea, Beirut, Sidon, Tyre, Safed, and Tiberias (1837). One is mentioned in the time of King Uzziah ( Zechariah 14:5): another in 31 B.C., when a great part of Jerusalem was destroyed and 10,000 persons killed. Josephus speaks of one about the time of the crucifixion (Antiquities ix. 10, 4), when a large rock fell from Olivet.

East (Hebrew: kedem ) (“before” or “in front” ) By the east was often meant sun-rise. The Jews used to designate the lands lying east and northeast of Palestine ( Genesis 25:6).

Easter ( Acts 12:4 ). Eastgate ( Nehemiah 3:29 ). A gate of Jerusalem.

Eating Ebal Mountain north of Shechem ( Deuteronomy 11:29). Moses charged the Israelites to put the blessing upon Mount Gerizim, and the curse upon Mount Ebal. Both mountains are now terraced and cultivated, from bottom to top, by fine gardens. Ebal is 2700 feet high; Gerizim is 2,600 above the sea, and about 1,000 above Shechem. The valley is about 600 feet wide.

Ebed (Hebrew, “servant” ) 1. Father of Gaal ( Judges 9:26; 28:30; 31:35). 2. Son of Jonathan ( Ezra 8:6); Obeth in First Esdras.

Ebedmelech Ethiopian eunuch of Zedekiah, who released the prophet Jeremiah from prison, and was therefore saved when Jerusalem was taken ( Jeremiah 38:7, ff).

Ebeh (Hebrew: ebeh ) — reed, bulrushes, papyrus ( Job 9:26). Boats or skiffs made of papyrus — light and swift.

Eben-Ezel (stone of departure ). ( 1 Samuel 20:19 ).

Ebenezer (“stone of help” ) Set up by Samuel between Mizpeh and Shem ( 1 Samuel 7:12). Site lost. Eber (“beyond” ), . 1. Son of Salah, great-grandson of Shem; from whom the Hebrews were named. 2. Son of Elpaal, a Benjamite ( 1 Chronicles 8:12). 3. A priest of Amok under Joiakim ( Nehemiah 12:20). Ebiasaph (Hebrew: Abiasaph ). A Levite ( 1 Chronicles 6:23). The prophet Samuel and Heman the singer descended from him. .

Ebony True Ebony is a native of the coast of Malabar and of Ceylon. The tree is large. The stem is nine feet in circumference, and shoots up, before it branches, to 29 feet in height. The branches are stiff, irregular and numerous. This elegant plant furnishes valuable materials for inlaying; its fine-grained wood being sometimes black, gray, or green.

Ebronah Near Ezion-geber.

Ecanus One of the five swift scribes who assisted Esdras (2 Esdras 14:24) 2.

Ecbatana ( Ezra 6:2). Two cities of this name. 1. Capital of north Media. Atropatene of Strabo. The 7-walled town of Herodotus, and said to have been the capital of Cyrus. Where the roll was found which proved to Darius that Cyrus had really made a decree allowing the Jews to rebuild their temple. Ruins the most massive and antique, now called Takht-i-Suleiman, are on a conical hill 150 feet above the plain, enclosing 2,400 by 1,200 feet. An artificial lake, 300 feet across, is filled with clear, sweet water. The walls of the Temple were colored tints — black, white, orange, blue, scarlet, silver and gold, in the order of the days dedicated to the planets. It was an important city as late as the 13th century, called Gaza, Gazaca, Cauzaca, by Greeks and Romans, and Shiz by Orientals. 2. The southern city, capital of Greater Media, is now called Hamadan, and is one of the great cities of Persia, with 20,000 inhabitants. It was the summer residence of the Persian kings from Darius downward. It was occupied by Alexander. The Jews say it was the residence of Ahasuerus, and show the tombs of Esther and Mordecai near it. See the picture on page 6 of the book.

Ecclesiasticus .

Eclipse of the Sun Supposed to be alluded to in Amos 8:8,9; Micah 3:6; Zechariah 14:6; Jeremiah 15:9.

Ed (Hebrew: “witness”), ( Joshua 22:34).

Edar (“flock-tower”) Where Jacob first pitched his tent after the death of Rachel ( Genesis 35:21). Near Bethlehem. Eder? There is a Jewish tradition that the Messiah is to be born there.

Eddias (1 Esdras 9:26). . Eden (“garden of God”) The idea of a paradise of purity and happiness is found in all natrons and in every religion. The location of the garden is lost. Dr. Robinson proposed as the site of Eden the ruin called Jusieh el Kadimeh, in the valley of the Orontes, 30 miles north of Baalbek, 3 miles southeast of Riblah. A fortress in it was 396 feet square, having towers at the corners, houses and streets are traced among the ruins over a space of 2 1/2 miles. Much material has been carried away to build a new town of Jusieh, 1 mile northwest, toward Riblah. Ptolemy, Strabo and Pliny mention Paradisus in this same district. It is now dreary and barren, and water is found only in cisterns. 2. Beit-Jenn (the house of Paradise), southwest of Damascus, on the eastern slope of Hermon, near Mejdel, on a branch of the Pharpar. 3. Ezekiel 24:23. In Assyria, with Haran, Canneh and Sheba, trading with Tyre. Supposed to be Aden. 4. Beth Eden. A country residence of the kings of Damascus (Amos 1:5). Near the cedars of Lebanon is a village of Ehden but it is not identified with any historical event.

Edna (Hebrew: “pleasure”) Wife of Raguel (Tobit 7:2; 8:14,16). Edom ( Mark 3:8). The name of Esau, ( Genesis 25:29-34). The country settled by Esau’s descendants. The ruddy hue of the mountains may have given the name Edom, which is red in the original. The ancient name was Mount Seir. Seir means “rugged”. On the East side of West Arabah, from Elath on the south to Moab on the North, at the brook Zered ( Deuteronomy 2:13,14,18), about 100 miles long by miles wide. The whole country is wild, rugged, and full of deep glens, but is also very fertile on the terraces; while the desert on each side is barren. The people dwelt amid the rocky heights, in caves and houses perched on dizzy crags, like eagles in their nests, living by their swords ( Genesis 27:40; Jeremiah 49:16); yet, as Isaac promised, this land possessed “the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven” ( Genesis 27:39). The ancient capital was Bozrah. Sela (Petra) was the stronghold, and Eziongeber its seaport, where Solomon built a fleet ( 2 Samuel 8:14; Kings 9:26). The crusaders built a fortress 12 miles north of Petra, on Mons. Regalis, now a ruin, called Shobek. The people were always idolaters ( 2 Chronicles 25:14; Josephus, Antiquities xv. 17, sec. 9). The rock temples and dwellings of Edom were cut in a soft rock; were large, airy, well lighted and dry, and a safe protection against robbers.

Edomites Descendants of Edom ( Genesis 36:1 ff.). .

Edrei 1. Bashan, one of its two capitals, the residence of Og ( Deuteronomy 1:4). In Hanasseh ( Joshua 13:12,31). Two modern places claim this ancient name: (1) Edhra, at the southwest angle of the Lejah, and (2) Dera, in the open plain of the Hauran, 14 miles south of the former. The ruins of Edhra are extensive and important above any other of the region; on a rocky projection from the Lejah, 3 miles in circuit, raised 30 feet above the plain, which is wide and of unequalled fertility. The walls, roofs and doors are of a dark stone. There were many public buildings. 2. Naphtali, 3 miles south of Kedesh ( Joshua 19:37). Education The Jews were strictly charged in the law to educate their children ( Deuteronomy 4:9), but probably only in moral and religious discipline. The exceptions were those who were intended for priestly or civil office, as in the cases of Moses, Paul, Ezra, Daniel. There were schools of prophets (singers?) one of which, kept by Samuel, David attended. The sect of Essenes instructed children. Eglah (Hebrew: “a heifer”) Wife of David at Hebron ( 2 Samuel 3:5; 1 Chronicles 3:3). . Eclaim (“2 pounds”) ( Isaiah 15:8). Moab. Lost.

Eglon Judah, in the Shefelah ( Joshua 15:39; 10:3-5). Now Ajlan, a shapeless mass of ruins, 10 miles southwest of Beit Jibkin, on the road to Gaza, from which it is 13 miles. Name of a very fat king of Philistia ( Judges 3:14).

Egypt It would be interesting and valuable if we could give here a full account of all the monuments which confirm Scripture, found in Egypt; but as that would fill a large volume, we must admit only a few illustrations, referring the student to the larger works. Concerning Abraham, we find that the account of his visit to Egypt is confirmed by many facts which may be compared with the history, laws and customs of the country as found in Wilkinson, Lane, and other writers. The principal points illustrated by evidence derived from Egypt are: 1. That Egypt was then a rich, powerful, and civilized nation. 2. The lower part, or Delta, was dry. 3. Its kings were called Pharaoh. 4. Slavery was an institution. 5. There was a famine in Canaan and an abundance in Egypt. 6. Abraham’s wife, Sarah, was fair and did not wear a veil. 7. Pharaoh wished to place Sarah in his harem. 8. Abraham was well received as a shepherd. 9. He had sheep, oxen, asses, men and maid servants, and camels. 10. Abraham accepted Pharaoh’s gifts because he dared not refuse them, for the custom of the time then, as well as now, makes the refusal of a present an insult. Joseph was sold to the Ishmaelites for a household servant; was bought by Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh; made an overseer in the king’s house; was tempted by Potiphar’s wife; thrown in prison interpreted the king’s dream; was elevated to office; was invested with a ring and robes of office, a gold chain; had his name changed to an Egyptian one; and was married to Asenath, daughter to a priest of On. The ring of Suphis, here engraved, was found on a mummy in the necropolis of Sakkara, near Memphis, is of pure gold, massive, and is now in the Abbott Egyptian Museum of the Historical Society, New York. The mummy was entirely cased in pure gold, every limb, even to the tinkers’ ends, being wrapped separately, and the whole was inscribed with hieroglyphics. Joseph was embalmed and put in a coffin ( Genesis 50:26). The mummy cased in gold is of the age of Thothmes III, the Pharaoh who reigned in the time of Joseph, whose signet was found attached to a chain of gold, around his neck. The seal turns on a swivel, and so has two tablets, which are engraved. The whole is of very pure gold. Pharaoh made Joseph a ruler over all the land of Egypt, and called him (“preserver of the world”) ( Genesis 41:37-45.) The seal bears the name of Pharaoh, and also the title “Paaneah.” (These, with the chain, are now in the Leyden Museum.) “He made him to ride in the second chariot” ( Genesis 41:43). “Now there arose up a new king over Egypt wlnch knew not Joseph,” and there was a period of bondage in which the Jews were held until the time of Moses and the Exodus. The monuments show us the taskmaster and his men, the several kinds of work, punishment by the bastinado, etc. The picture on p. 43 in the book, is in the tomb of Roschere, at Thebes. Rosellini (See his great work on Egypt, in the Astor Library) says: “Of the laborers, some are bringing clay in vessels; some mingling the straw with it; others taking the bricks out of the moulds and arranging them in order for burning; others carrying away the burnt bricks: all are different from the three overseers at the right-hand end of the picture (a fourth is sitting), in complexion, physiognomy and beard. The original is in colors and the figures are very large. The inscription at the top is translated, “Captives brought by his majesty to build the temple of the great God.” The question has been asked. “Had the Jews the skill requisite to make a golden image of a calf, such as they made in Sinai?” As proof that they had, we offer the pictures on the monuments, showing men actually, at work at the furnaces, “the refiner’s fire,” weighing, etc. The “calf” they made was an image of the Egyptian god Apis, which was a live bull, kept at Memphis; and they had probably, while slaves, made many images of him for use in all parts of the country. Selections might be made showing workers in nearly every industry known in the East, but the student will be better satisfied with the larger works; and we have given enough here to point the argument, that the Scriptures are true. Long after the Exodus, “Shishak, king of Egypt, came up against Jerusalem” ( 2 Chronicles 12:2), and on one of the walls in a temple at Karnac there is a picture of 63 prisoners, each one representing a city, tribe, or nation, and among them is a “king of the country of Judah.” The names of Beth-horon, Megiddo, Mahanaim, and other cities in Palestine, are there, on shields. There are 84 names of persons or places of Canaan on the monuments at Abu Simbel, Thebes, and other ruins in Egypt, written in hieroglyphics. ( ) The word mizraim (the two Egypts) in the Hebrew Scriptures is translated Egypt in many passages ( Ezekiel 29:10, etc.), Misr is “red mud” in Arabic. The name on the monuments is “kem” (“black”). Upper Egypt extended from the cataracts to Memphis, and was called ; and Lower Egypt from Memphis to the sea called the . Upper Egypt was also called ( Isaiah 11:11). Land of Ham ( <19A523> Psalm 105:23). The sign for Upper Egypt was a bent reed, and for Lower Egypt a bee ( Isaiah 2:18).

Ehi (Hebrew: “connection” ), a Benjamite chief ( Genesis 46:21 ). .

Ehud (Hebrew: “union, powerful” ) 1. Son of Bilhan ( Zechariah 7:10; 8:6). 2. Son of Gera, tribe of Benjamin ( Judges 3:15, ff), the second Judge of the Israelites (B.C. 1336), called “a deliverer”.

Eker (Hebrew: “transplanted” ) Descendant of Judah ( 1 Chronicles 2:27).

Ekrebel ( Judges 7:18 ), A village 7 miles south east of Nablus. Ekron (Hebrew: “eradication” ) A royal city in the north of Philistia ( Joshua 13:3), now , built on the accumulated rubbish of past ages. The deity worshiped was Baal-zebub. Ekron was the last place to which the Ark was carried before its return to Israel.

Ekronites People of Ekron ( Joshua 13:3).

Elah ( 1 ) (valley of Terebinth ). Where David slew Goliath ( 1 Samuel 17:2,19; 21:9).

Elah ( 2 ) (“strength” ), (Hebrew: terebinth or oak ). 1. Son of Baasha, king of Israel ( 1 Kings 16:8-14) 2. Father of Hoshea ( 2 Kings 15:30).

Elah ( 3 ) 1. Duke of Edom ( Genesis 36:41). 2. Father of Shimei ( 1 Kings 4:18). 3. Son of Caleb ( 1 Chronicles 4:15). 4. Son of Uzzi, a Benjamite chief ( 1 Chronicles 9:8).

Elahdah (Hebrew: elada ), (“whom God adorns” ) A descendant of Ephraim ( 1 Chronicles 7:20).

Elam Oldest son of Shem ( Genesis 10:22). The country peopled by his descendants was along the Ulai, and its capital was Shushan, one of the most powerful and magnificent cities of antiquity. The name is found in the ancient inscriptions. Also called Nuvaki. Extended from the Persian Gulf to Assyria on the north, to the Zagron mountains on the east, and the Tigris on the west. In the time of Abram, the king of Elam was one of the most powerful in Asia ( Jeremiah 49:34-39). The people were idolaters, and their images are found in the ruins. Elamites were at the Pentecostal feast ( Acts 2:9).

Elamites They were the original inhabitants of ( Genesis 10:22; Ezra 4:9).

Elasah (“God-created” ) 1. A priest of Pashur ( Ezra 10:22). 2. Son of Shaphan. Sent on a mission by king Zedekiah to Babylon. ( Jeremiah 31:3).

Elath Idumaea, on the east gulf of the Red Sea. First named in Deuteronomy 2:8; and the reference in 1 Kings 9:26, shows that Elath was more ancient than Ezion-gaber. King Solomon built a navy here. A fort is kept garrisoned here now, called Akaba, for the benefit of the pilgrims to Mecca.

Elbethel (“God of Bethel” ) The place where God appeared to Jacob when he was fleeing from Esau ( Genesis 35:7).

Elcia ( Judges 8:1).

Eldaah (Hebrew: “whom God called” ) ( Genesis 25:4 ). Son of Midian.

Eldad (“whom God loves” ) and . Two of the seventy Elders who had the gift of prophesy ( Numbers 11:16,26). Elder (Hebrew: zaken, Greek: “presbyter” ) An old man. A title of honor and respect given to persons in authority ( Genesis 24:2; 50:7), as stewards or as master workmen. The elder was a political officer among the Hebrews, Moabites, and Egyptians ( Numbers 22:7). The office is the keystone of the political system among the modern Syrians, who use the nameSHEIKH, which means old man, for the chief or head of the tribe. Moses adopted the idea and regulated its use by laws ( Exodus 3:16; 4:29). Their authority was almost unlimited, within the law and customs ( Joshua 9:18). They became judges or magistrates in Canaan, in the local towns, sitting in the gates ( Deuteronomy 19:12). They are called the Senate in 1 Macc. 12:6. . The office of elder in the Christian church was adopted from the Jewish custom.

Elead (“whom God applauds” ) A decendant of Ephraim ( 1 Chronicles 7:21). .

Elealeh (“God’s height” ) East of the Jordan River, on the plateau of Moab,1 mile northeast of Heshbon, on the summit of a conical hill. Was once strongly fortified; and there are ruins of walls, cisterns, etc. Rebuilt by Reuben ( Numbers 32:37).

Eleasa Near Azotus (1 Macc. 9:15).

Eleasah (Hebrew: elasah ) 1. Son of Helez of Judah ( 1 Chronicles 2:39). 2. Son of Rapha ( 1 Chronicles 8:37; 9:43). Eleazar (Hebrew: “whom God helps” ) 1. Son of Aaron ( Leviticus 10:1ff.). Eleazar was chief over the Levites ( Numbers 3:32). 2. Son of Abinadab ( 1 Samuel 7:1). 3. Son of Dodo the Ahohite; one of the three chiefs of David’s army ( Samuel 23:9ff). 4. A Levite, son of Mohli ( 1 Chronicles 23:21,22). 5. A priest ( Nehemiah 12:42). 6. A decendant of Parosh; an Israelite ( Ezra 10:25). 7. Son of Phinehas ( Ezra 8:33). 8. Elizzer (1 Esdras 8:43). 9. Avaran (1 Macc. 2:5). 10. A distinguished scribe of great age, who was a martyr in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes (2 Macc. 6:18,31). 11. Father of Jason (1 Macc. 8:18). 12. Son of Eliud ( Matthew 1:15). Elect (“chosen, selected” ) Election. The designation of persons to office ( Acts 9:15); of people or nations to the enjoyment of peculiar privileges ( Deuteronomy 7:6-8) and of a definite number of persons to eternal life ( 2 Thessalonians 2:13). This subject belongs to the mysteries of God and cannot be so clearly stated as to leave no uncertainty in the mind. The position is: that God does and will save a number of persons, and He does this according to a plan which He formed before the world was made and He has never, and never will change that plan ( Ephesians 1:4; 2 Timothy 1:9); their election is of free grace and love, and not for any good in the person ( Ephesians 1:5); the redemption of Christ is included in the great plan. This plan enters into our destiny as a controlling element; as, it may be said by analogy, the patriotic determination of Washington resulted in the independence of our country; and the plans of a father determines where his family shall reside, the college his son shall attend, and the studies he shall pursue.

El-Elohe-Israel (“Almighty, God of Israel” ) Name of the altar that Jacob built facing Shechem ( Genesis 33:19,20).

Eleph (“ox” ) Benj. ( Joshua 18:18).

Elephants (Hebrew: Shen-Habbim ).

Elephants were used in warfare (1 Macc. 1:17, 3:34). .

Eleutheropolis On the east border of the plain of Philistia, at the foot of the hills of Judaea, south Palestine, 25 miles southwest from Jerusalem. Not mentioned in Scripture, but was an important city in the early Christian ages, when its name was Betogabra, House of Bread. Eusebius mentions it as the seat of a bishop, and reckons distances to other cities from it as a center. The ruins are still shown of a fine chapel, and of a fort built by the Crusaders, feet square, in the 12th century. Now Beit Jibrin, having 50 or more houses. The great attractions here are the caverns, or houses cut in the solid rocks. Rooms 100 feet or more in length, with smooth and ornamented walls, and lofty, arched roofs; some 40 to 70 feet by 60 feet high; most of them lighted by openings in the roof, and connected by doorways. Jerome says they were built by Idumaeans.

Eleutherus River in Syria (1 Macc. 11:7; 12:30). Strabo says it divided Syria from Phoenicia. Now the Nahr el Kebir, Great River; rising in Lebanon, passing through the entrance to Hamath ( Numbers 34:8), emptying into the Great Sea 18 miles north of Tripolis.

Elhanan (“God-endowed” ) 1. A great warrior in David’s time ( 2 Samuel 23:24). Son of Dodo, one of David’s thirty men. 2. Son of Jair (or Jaor). Eli (“height” ) A high priest descended from Aaron ( 1 Kings 2:27; 2 Samuel 8:17). Eli Eli Lama Sabachthani — wherefore hast thou forsaken me? — words uttered by Christ on the cross ( Matthew 27:46; Psalm 22). Eliab (“God is father” ) 1. Son of Helon ( Numbers 1:9). 2. Son of Phallu Numbers 26:8,9). 3. One of David’s brothers, son of Jesse ( 1 Chronicles 2:13). 4. A Levite, porter and musician ( 1 Chronicles 15:18,20). 5. A Gadite leader in David’s time ( 1 Chronicles 12:9). 6. Son of Nohath ( 1 Chronicles 6:27). 7. Son of Nathanael ( Judges 8:1).

Eliada (“whom God knows or cares for” ) 1. Son of David ( 2 Samuel 5:16). 2. A Benjamite who led 200,000 men to the army of Jehoshaphat ( Chronicles 17:17).

Eliadah (Hebrew: eliada ). Father of Rezon ( 1 Kings 11:23 ). (1 Esdras 9:28) — .

Eliah (Hebrew: Elijah ). 1. Son of Jeroham ( 1 Chronicles 8:29). 2. Son of Elam ( Ezra 10:26).

Eliaba (“whom God hides” ) One of David’s thirty men ( 2 Samuel 22:32).

Eliakim (“whom God has set up” ) 1. Son of Hilkiah I ( 2 Kings 18:26,37); he was a prefect in the king’s house ( Isaiah 22:20). 2. The original name of Jehoiakim, king of Judah ( 2 Kings 22:34). 3. A priest who assisted at the dedication of the new wall of Jerusalem ( Nehemiah 12:41). 4. Son of Abiud, and father of Azor ( Matthew 1:13). 5. Son of Melea ( Luke 3:30,31).

Eliam (“God’s people”) 1. Father of Bathsheba ( 2 Samuel 1:3). 2. Son of Ahithophel ( 2 Samuel 23:34). Elias .

Eliasaph (“whom God has added” ) 1. Son of Deuel ( Numbers 1:14). 2. Son of Lael ( Numbers 3:24).

Eliashib (“God restores” ) 1. A priest in David’s time ( 1 Chronicles 24:12). 2. Son of Elioenai ( 1 Chronicles 3:24). 3. High priest at Jerusalem ( Nehemiah 3:1,20,21). 4. A singer ( Ezra 10:24). 5. Son of Zattu ( Ezra 10:27). 6. Son of Bani ( Ezra 10:36).

Eliathah (“God comes” ) Son of Hernan ( 1 Chronicles 25:4,27).

Elidad Son of Chislon; a prince who assisted in the division of the land of Canaan ( Numbers 34:21).

Eliel (“God is strength” ) A common name among the Hebrews, but nothing of any note is known of anyone bearing it ( 1 Chronicles 8:20; 2:46).

Elienai Son of Shimhi ( 1 Chronicles 8:20). Elioenai, a chief.

Eliezer (“God helps” ) 1. Steward of Abraham’s house ( Genesis 15:5). 2. Son of Moses and Zipporah ( Exodus 18:4). 3. Son of Becher ( 1 Chronicles 7:8). 4. Priest in David’s reign ( 1 Chronicles 15:24). 5. Son of Zichri ( 1 Chronicles 27:16). 6. Son of Dodavah ( 2 Chronicles 20:37). 7. A chief Israelite — a learned assistant to Ezra ( Ezra 8:16). 8, 9, and 10. Priests ( Ezra 10:18,23,31). 11. Son of Jorim ( Luke 3:29).

Elihoenai Son of Zerahiah, who, with 260 men, returned from the captivity with Ezra ( Ezra 8:4).

Elihoreph (“God rewards” ) Son of Shisha, scribe of Solomon.

Elihu (“Jehovah” ) 1. Son of Barachel ( Genesis 22:21). 2. Son of Tohu ( 1 Samuel 1:1). 3. ( 1 Chronicles 27:18). “Of the brethren of David.” 4. Captain of the thousands of Manasseh ( 1 Chronicles 12:20). A Levite ( 1 Chronicles 26:7). Elijah (Hebrew: eliahu “God-Jah, El-Jehovah” ) On his first appearance he is simply denominated “Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead” ( 1 Kings 17:1). It is supposed that Thisbe, in Galilee, was the birthplace of Elijah, but there no proof. Such points were left in doubt that he might be known and thought of simply as the great prophet reformer. In this light alone he appears in the sacred history. His one grand object was to awaken Israel to the conviction that Jehovah, Jehovah alone is God. The period of Israelite history at which Elijah appeared was one that emphatically called for the living exhibition of this great truth. It was that period of Ahab’s apostasy, when, through the influence and example of his wife Jezebel he formally introduced the worship of other gods into Israel. In the language of the sacred historian. “It seemed a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat; he took the daughter of Ethbaal to wife, and served Baal, and worshiped him. He reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, in Samaria” ( 1 Kings 16:31). He did not rest, like his predecessors, with the corrupt worship of Jehovah under the form of a calf, but brought in the worship of the Tyrian Baal, with its usual accompaniment of the Asherah pollutions — the rites of the Syrian Venus. Hence he enters on the work assigned him as the special servant of Jehovah, and in his name announces what shall absolutely come to pass, confident that there is no power in heaven or earth capable of reversing the word. And Ehijah said unto Ahab, “As Jehovah, God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word” ( <111701> Kings 17:1). After the utterance of a word by which the genial influences of heaven were to be laid under arrest for a series of years, it became necessary that a hiding place should be provided for Elijah, that he might escape from the violence of those in high places, and from the importunities of others, who might try to prevail upon his pity. Such a hiding-place was found for him to the east — beyond the limits of the kingdom of Israel — beside the brook Cherith, that flowed into the Jordan. There he found not only water from the brook, but also supplies of bread and flesh, morning and evening, ministered at God’s command by ravens. The brook Cherith, however, in course of time dried up, and another place of refuge had to be provided for the prophet. This was found in the house of a poor widow, with an only son — and she not in the land of Israel, but at Zarephath (Sarepta), in the territory of Zidon, the native region of the infamous Jezebel ( 1 Kings 17:9). Brought by divine direction to the place and to the woman, he found her near the gate of the city, gathering a few sticks to prepare her last meal, that she and her son might thereafter die. In the confidence of faith he bids her go and bake the bread as she intended, but in the first instance to bring a portion of it, with a little water, to him, demanding such faith from her as he himself exercised toward God. And he added, as the ground for her belief and his own demand, “For thus saith Jehovah, God of Israel, the barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail till the day that Jehovah sendeth rain on the earth.” On the occasion of a severe illness befalling her son, she said to Elijah in a petulant tone, “What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? Art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son?” Josephus does not understand that the child died. Jewish tradition says that this boy afterward became a servant to the prophet, and also the prophet Jonah. This seems to imply that she looked upon him as the occasion of her calamity, and that it would have been better for her had she not known him. However she graciously overlooked what might be wrong in it; as it was, the calamity proved a heavy trial to Elijah, and with holy freedom he laid it before God, and said, “O Jehovah, my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son? I pray thee, let this child’s soul come into him again.” The child began to breathe, and presently was delivered alive to his mother. She said, “Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and the word of Jehovah in thy mouth is truth.” It was in the third year of Elijah’s sojourn with the widow, that the Lord came to him, announcing the near prospect of rain, and bid him go and show himself to Ahab ( 1 Kings 18:1). Returning to King Ahab, he procured the great assembly at Mount Carmel, where God “answered by fire,” and the prophets of Baal were destroyed. ( ) Now the long terrible drought was broken, and a plentiful rain descended at the prophet’s prayer. He fled from the fury of Jezebel, first to Beersheba where he left his servant (Jonah), and went on alone into the wilderness (of Sinai. — Dr. Crosby), where he wished for death. “It is enough, Lord, let me die, for I am not better than my fathers.” (The oratorio of Elijah, by Mendelssohn, is a beautiful and effective commentary on this part of the prophet’s life.) Here the prophet saw the Lord pass by, in answer to his complaint. The wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks of Sinai; then an earthquake; and after that a fire, burning in the constant blaze of lightning. These were symbols of the angry frame of mind that the prophet had. Then, after a profound stillness, there came a small voice, soft and gentle. This was Jehovah’s method of winning men — not by exbibitions of terrible power. The persecutions of Ahab and Jezebel, the shaughter of Baal’s priests, had nothing of God in them; but he was to be found as truly worshiped by the few who had not bowed the knee to Baal. These commands were given him: — To return to the wilderness of Damascus and at a proper time annoint Hazael, king of Syria, Jehu, king of Israel, and Elisha as his suceessor. Elisha was appointed by having Elijah’s cloak (of coarse camel hair, or wool) cast on him, when, from that time “He poured water on the hands of Elijah,” that is, served him daily. Six years after he denounces Ahab and Jezebel for their crime against Naboth, in taking his vineyard. He foretells the death of Ahaziah, the king. The warning letter to Jehoram is by a later hand, of the same school. Two bands of guards having been sent by Ahab to arrest him, he calls down fire from heaven on their heads. Soon after that he crossed the Jordan with Elisha “on dry ground,” and was separated from him by fire and carried away by a wind “into heaven.” Elisha asked for the first born’s double portion, as the oldest follower of Elijah. His whole life as a prophet was one of trial and conflict. The Jews, in the time of Jesus, expected Elijah to reappear, and Jesus alludes to the belief ( Matthew 11:14), explaining the fulfilment as in John the Baptist. Elijah (Elias in Greek) became a name for any or all true prophets, as David for the king, Abraham or Israel for the Hebrews.

Elim (“tree” ) Had twelve fountains (not wells), and a palm grove, being a kind of desert paradise ( Exodus 15:27). Wady Ghurundel has now several fine fountains, supplying a perennial stream, and has more trees, shrubs, and bushes than any other spot in the desert. Here the plain ends and the mountain begins.

Elimelech (“God is King” ) The Bethlehemitc husband of Noomi; the father of Mahlon and Chilion. in the .

Elioenai (“eyes turned to El-God” ) 1. Benjamite, and head of a family ( 1 Chronicles 7:8). 2. Simeonite, and head of a family ( 1 Chronicles 4:36). 3. Korhite Levite, and doorkeeper in the Temple of Solomon ( Chronicles 26:3). Two before and two others after the captivity, were not noted.

Eliphal (“judged by El” ) Son of Ur ( 1 Chronicles 11:35).

Eliphalet 1. Son of David. The last of 13, born in Jerusalem ( 2 Samuel 5:16). 2. One of David’s 30 heroes. 3. A Benjamite. Eliphaz (“God for strength” ) 1. Son of Esau, and father of Teman ( Genesis 36:10). 2. Chief of the three friends of Job, called the Temanite ( Job 2:11). in the .

Eliphelet (“God distinguishes” ) 1. Son of David ( 1 Chronicles 3:6). . 2. 1. - 3. Son of ( 2 Samuel 23:34). in Chronicles 11. 4. Son of Eshek, and of Saul through Jonathan ( 1 Chronicles 8:39). 5. One of the Bene-Adonikam who returned with Ezra ( Ezra 8:13). 6. One of the Bene-Hashum in Ezra’s time ( Ezra 10:33). Elisabeth (“fullness of God” ) 1. Wife of Zacharias, and mother of John the Baptist ( Luke 1:5,42), and cousin to Mary, the mother of Jesus. 2. The wife of Aaron ( Exodus 6:23).

Eliseus The name of Elisha in the Apocrypha and the New Testament ( Luke 4:27). Elisha ( 1 ) (“God for Salvation” ) Son of Shaphat, and a native of Abel-Meholah, where Elijah found him, whose pupil and successor he was from B.C. 903 to 838 ( 1 Kings 19:16). He was with Elijah when he divided the Jordan River, and was carried away by a whirlwind and chariot of fire. Elijah’s mission was to show that El was the God of Israel — Elisha to show that God should also be the salvation of his people. Beneficent working and kindly blessing were Elisha’s chief work. His first act was to heal the bitter waters of Jericho. Following this were: the anathema on the young lads who mocked at God’s prophet; refusing to prophesy for Jehoram the son of Ahab, “the son of a murderer,” he did so to Jehoshaphat, giving them counsel which secured victory; he multiplied the widow’s pot of oil; restored the Shunemite’s son; cured the poisoned pottage; he multiplies a scant supply (twenty barley loaves and some roasted grain) to enough for 100 men; cured Naaman’s leprosy; Gehazi lies, and is cursed with leprosy; restored the ax lost in the Jordan River; showed a host of spiritual warriors to his servant, and struck blind the whole Syrian army, but he saved them from destruction by the Jews, caused the king to feed and send them away; he predicts plenty and the death of the king; the king restores her land to the Shunemite; predicts the death of king Ben-hadad, and the succession of Hazael; anoints Jehu king over Israel; the incident of the smiting with the bundles of arrows. Even after death he restored the dead to life. Elisha is seen to resemble Christ in his miracles, and in his loving, gentle, character. He had no successor. The Greek church honors Elisha as a saint, on June 14. Elisha ( 2 ) (“firm bond” ) Son of Javan ( Genesis 10:4), who named the “Isles of Elisha,” which traded with Tyre ( Ezekiel 27:7). is from the same source. , ancient Greece.

Elishama (“God hears” ) 1. Prince in Ephraim ( Numbers 1:10). 2. Son of David ( 2 Samuel 5:16). 3. Son of David, also called ( 1 Chronicles 3:6). 4. Of Judah, son of Jekamiah ( 1 Chronicles 2:41), and father of Nethaniah, grandfather of Ishmael of the Captivity ( 2 Kings 25:25); in some editions. 5. Scribe to Jehoiakim ( Jeremiah 36:12). 6. Priest to Jehoshaphat, and sent to teach ( 2 Chronicles 17:8).

Elishaphat (“God judges” ) Captain of “hundreds,” in the service of Jehoiada ( 2 Chronicles 23:1).

Elisheba (“God of the oath” ) Daughter of Amminadab, of Judah, wife of Aaron: same as Elisabeth ( Exodus 6:23; Numbers 1:7). Her marriage to Aaron united the royal and priestly tribes, Judah and Levi.

Elishua (“El is salvation” ) David’s son, born at Jerusalem ( 2 Samuel 5:15). in 1 Chronicles 3:6.

Eliu Ancestor of Judith (Judith 8:1), of Simeon.

Eliud (“Jews’ God” ) Son of Achim ( Matthew 1:15). From Abina.

Elizaphan (“God protects” ) 1. Son of Uzziel, a Levite ( Exodus 6:22). The family are mentioned in the times of David and Hezckiah. 2. Son of Parnach, appointed by Moses, from Zebulon, to assist in dividing the land ( Numbers 34:25).

Elizur (“God the rock” ) Son of Shedeur, of Reuben ( Numbers 1:5).

Elkanah (“El creates” ) 1. Son of Korah ( Exodus 6:24). Several generations of Korah’s sons are given in 1 Chronicles 6:22, etc. 2. Son of Joel, in the same line as 1 ( 1 Chronicles 6:25,36). 3. Another, in the line of Ahimoth, or Mahath ( 1 Chronicles 6:26,35). 4. A Kohathite Levite, in the line of Heman. Son of Jeroham, and father of Samuel the prophet ( 1 Samuel 1:1, etc.). He lived in Mount Ephraim or Ramath and attended yearly meeting for worship and sacrifice at Shiloh. He was rich enough to give three bullocks when Samuel was presented at the house of the Lord. 5. A Levite living in Netopha ( 1 Samuel 9:16). 6. Door-keeper in David’s time, for the Ark (15:23). 7. Joined David at Ziklag (12:6). 8. The second in command in the house of Ahaz, killed by Zichri ( Chronicles 28:7).

Elkosh (“El’s power” ) Birthplace of Nahum ( Nahum 1:1). There is a place so named in Assyria (34 miles north of Mosul), and modern Jews and the resident Aramaic Christians show a tomb of Nahum there. Jerome says the place was in Galilee, where there is now a traditional tomb of the prophet at kefr tanchum, near Tiberias.

Elkoshite From Elkosh.

Ellasar ( <011401>Genesis 14:1 ). . The country and kingdom of Arioch in the days of Abraham.

Elm Error for oak (Hebrew: alah ), in Hosea 4:13.

Elmodam Son of Er, in Joseph’s line ( Luke 3:28). Almodad in Genesis 10:26.

Elnaam (“El his delight” ) Father of Jeribai and Joshaviah, two of David’s guard ( 1 Chronicles 11:46).

Elnathan (“whom El gave” ) 1. Maternal grandfather of Jehoiachin ( 2 Kings 24:8). 2. Three Levites of this name in Ezra’s time ( Ezra 8:16). In 1 Esdras 8:44, etc., the names are and Elnathan was sent by the king into Egypt to bring back the fugitive Urijah ( Jeremiah 26:20); and he was present at the burning of Jeremiah’s roll, protesting against the act. .

Elohim A plural word in Hebrew, meaning the true God. .

Eloi When applied to pagan idols, it means gods. My God ( Mark 15:34).

Elon (Hebrew: allon, an oak ). 1. Father of Esau’s wife Adah, a Hittite ( Genesis 26:34). 2. Founder of the Elonites ( Genesis 46:14). 3. Judge for ten years ( Judges 12:11); from the tribe of Zebulon. (“oak”). Dan ( Joshua 19:43). Same place as (oak of the house of grace). Dan ( 1 Kings 4:9). Lost.

Elpaal (“El, his reward” ) Son of Hushim, a Benjamite, and founder of a family ( 1 Chronicles 8:12).

Elparan Terebinth of Paran ( Genesis 14:6).

Eltekeh (“El fearing” ) Place in Dan ( Joshua 19:44). Levitical.

Eltekon (“God its foundation” ) In Judah,4 miles from Hebron ( Joshua 15:59). Lost.

Eltolad (“El’s kindred” ) In Judah, near Beersheba (Josh 15:30). Wilton thinks it was in Wady Lussan, 60 miles south of Gaza. Rowland places it in Wady Saiud, 40 miles southeast of Gaza.

Elul Name of the sixth Hebrew month.

Eluzai (“God my praise” ) Soldier who joined David at Ziklag ( 1 Chronicles 12:5).

Elymais . City in Persia, containing a very rich temple, in which were many trophies deposited by Alexander the Great (1 Macc. 6:1). Antiochus Epiphanes failed to capture it (Antiquities xii. 9, section 1). In Tobit 2:10, Elymais is the name of a province.

Elyaemans Elamites (Judith 1:6). .

Elymas (Arabic: “wise” ) Arabic name of Barjesus ( Acts 13:6), the sorcerer. The Orientals called fortune-tellers by their true names, sorcerers, imposters.

Elzabad (“given by El” ) 1. Warrior from Gad, who joined David in the wilderness ( 1 Chronicles 12:12). 2. A Korhite Levite, son of Shemaiah ( 1 Chronicles 26:7), a doorkeeper in the Temple.

Elziphan (“protected by El” ) Cousin to Moses, and son of Uzzlel ( Exodus 6:22). He was one of the two bearers of Nadab and Abihu ( Leviticus 10:4). .

Embalming (em-ba-ming ). Preserving by spices, gums, etc., dead bodies from decay. Two instances are mentioned in the Old Testament: Jacob’s and Joseph’s bodies ( Genesis 1:2,26). The soft parts of the interior were removed, and spices, gums, etc., filled in their stead and the whole was then steeped for 70 days in natron (petroleum or asphaltum), after which the body was carefully wrapped in strips of linen, dipped in gum, and delivered to the friends, who put it in the coffin, which was of wood carved and painted, or of stone, sculptured. The whole art was carefully guarded by strict laws. The body could only be cut by an authorized person, with a stone knife (see ). Embalming was not practiced by the Hebrews. Asa was laid in a bed of spices ( 2 Chronicles 16:14), and Jesus had a hundred pound weight of spices placed in the tomb ( John 19:39,40). The Egyptians practiced the art because of their belief in the doctrine of transmigration of souls. (See Pettigrew’s History of Egyptian Mummies).

Embroidery (Hebrew: roken ), ( Exodus 35:35 ). Needlework. Two kinds of extra fine cloth was made, one by the roken of various colors and figures, called rikmah, and the other by the chosheb (cunning workmen), into which gold or other metallic threads are woven, besides the usual colors, both of which were made in the loom. The needle was used where the figure was wanted on one side only of the cloth. Wilkinson says that “Many of the Egyptian stuffs presented various patterns, worked in colors by the loom, independent of those produced by the dyeing or the printing process, and so richly composed that they vied with the cloths embroidered by the needle.” The art was known in Assyria also, as the sculptures show. Ezekiel mentions embroidered work as the production of Egypt and Assyria, imported by way of Tyre ( Ezekiel 27:7,23,24). . Emerald (Hebrew: nopek ). A precious stone in the 2nd row in the breastplate of the high priest ( Exodus 28:18).

Emerods Some kind of tumors which afflicted the Philistines, because of their lack of respect for the ark of the covenant ( 1 Samuel 5:6).

Emim (Hebrew, “terrors” ) Moabite name for a race of giants or strong men, on the east of the Dead Sea ( Genesis 14:5; Deuteronomy 2:10). Emmanuel ( Matthew 1:23).

Emmaus 1. Now called Kuriet El Enab, 7 1/2 miles west of Jerusalem. Josephus mentions it (Wars vii. 6, 9). Jerome mistook Nicopolis, the present Amwas, for this place, a proof of how early some scripture localities of the New Testament times were lost. 2. In the plain of Philistia; fortified by Bacchides (Antiquities xiii. 1,3; Macc. 9:50). Destroyed A.D. 4, by the Romans. Rebuilt A.D. 220, and called Nicopolis. 3. A village on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, south of Tiberias, the same as Hammath (hot baths).

Emmor ( Acts 7:16).

En Hebrew for “fountain”. The word means “an eye”. .

Enajim . An open place ( Genesis 38:11,21), in the gate of Enam.

Enam (double spring ). Judah, in the Shefelah ( Joshua 15:34). The residence of Tamar. ( Genesis 38:14).

Enan (“having eyes or fountains” ) Ahiram Ben Enan was a chief of the tribe of Naphtali, at Sinai ( Numbers 1:15).

Encampment (Hebrew: mahaneh ). The camp of the Lord’s host, with the Lord himself symbolically resident among them. The whole camp was a sacred place, and all impurities both actual and ceremonial must go outside of its limits ( Deuteronomy 23:14). Criminals were also executed outside, as also of the cities. It was managed and guarded in a military style, with sentinels, etc. . The modern Bedouins now camp in any fit place, near water, if possible. The Sheikh marks his place by his spear standing in front of his tent. The walled cities were fortified camps.

Enchantments Several Hebrew words are so translated: 1. latiym ( Exodus 7:11); secret arts. 2. ceshaphiym ( 2 Kings 9:22); witchcrafts, sorceries, in Isaiah 47:9, meaning muttered spells. 3. lahash ( Ecclesiastes 10:11); ear-rings, amulets in Isaiah 3:20. Used in the charming of serpents. 4. nahash ( Numbers 23:23), augury, omen. 5. heber , spell. , .

Endor (“spring of Dor” ) In Issacher, but belonging to Manasseh ( Joshua 17:11). The great victory over Sisera and Jabin ( Psalm 83:9,10). Saul visited the witch ( 1 Samuel 28:7). Now a little village at the north of Jebel Duhy, Little Hermon. The rocks around are full of caves.

Eneas A paralytic healed by Peter at Lydda ( Acts 9:33,34).

Eneglaim (“spring of two heifers” ) On the shore of the Dead Sea. Lost. ( Ezekiel 47:10).

Engannim (“spring of gardens” ) 1. Judah, In the Shefelah near Zanoah ( Joshua 15:34). 2. Issachar ( Joshua 19:21; Leviticus 21:29). Now Jenin, at the head of the plain of Esdraelon (Josephus, Antiquities xx. 6, sec. 1). The spring and orchards are still famous.

Engedi (“spring of the kid” ) In the wilderness of Judah, on the west shore of the Dead Sea ( Joshua 15:62). (“the pruning of the palms”) was its original name, from its palm-groves ( 2 Chronicles 20:2; Ecclesiastes 24:14; Josephus, Antiquities ix. 1, sec. 2). A rich plain half a mile square, gently sloping up from the water to the base of the mountains, watered by a fountain a mile from the sea, up a ravine 400 feet above the level plain; the water is sweet and warm (81 degrees F.). Ruins of the ancient city are scattered over the hills and plain. The soil is rich and fertile, and the variety of trees even now produced gives evidence of its ancient fruitfulness. The vineyards mentioned in Song of Solomon 1:14, are still represented by fine vines. Its history is 4,000 years but may be told in a few words. The Amorites dwelt here ( Genesis 14:7; 2 Chronicles 20:2). David cut off the skirt of Saul’s robe in a cave at Engedi ( 1 Samuel 24:1-4). The early hermits of Palestine, the Essenes, had their chief seat at Engedi, and not far from there is the convent of Mar Saba (Saint Saba), in the gorge of Kidron.

Engine In military affairs, machines for throwing things, first mentioned of Uzziah’s time ( 2 Chronicles 26:15). They were: 1. “balista”, cross-bows, for arrows or stones, and “catapulta”, the same, much larger, 2. the “battering ram”, for breaking walls ( Ezekiel 4:2).

Engraver (Hebrew: harash, in Exodus 28:11, etc. ). Any worker in wood, stone, or metal. The work was cutting names or devices on rings or seals; as on the high priest’s dress, breast-plate, etc. The art was known among all ancient nations, as evidences from the ruins prove. Many beautiful specimens of engravings on rings, etc., are preserved in the museums of Europe and in the Abbott Egyptian Museum, New York.

Enhaddah (“swift spring” ) In Issachar, near ( Joshua 19:21).

Enhakkore (“string of the crier” ) The spring which came forth in answer to the call of Samson ( Judges 15:19). .

Enhazor (“spring of the village” ), Naph., a fenced city. near Kedesh ( Joshua 19:37). Lost.

Enmishpat (“spring of judgment” ) ( Genesis 14:7). . Enoch (“teacher”) 1. Oldest son of Cain, who named his city after himself ( Genesis 4:17). 2. The son of Jared, and father of Methuselah, the seventh from Adam ( Jude 1:14). Enoch was a type of perfected humanity, “a man raised to heaven by pleasing God, while angels fell to earth by transgression.” Some have thought Enoch was the god of the new year, because he lived years, and did not die. The phrase “walked with God,” is also used of Noah ( Genesis 6:9), and of Abraham ( Genesis 17:1), and of others, as well as of people, and means a spiritual, upright life. The Greek and Latin fathers used the instances of Enoch and Elijah as evidences of the possibility of a resurrection and a future life. He is supposed to be one of the two witnesses alluded to in Revelation 11:3. He is called Edris (“the learned”) in the Koran, and is credited with inventing the art of writing and the sciences of arithmetic and astronomy. for the Book of Enoch. 3. Third son of Midian ( 1 Chronicles 1:33, Henoch). 4. Son of Reuben ( Genesis 46:9, Hanoch), from whom came the Hanochites ( Numbers 26:5). 5. In 2 Esdras 6:49,51, Enoch is found in the Latin and English versions, and Behemoth in the Aethiopic. Enon ( John 3:23 ). .

Enos (Hebrew: ’enosh, “man” ) Son of Seth ( Genesis 4:26). Enosh ( 1 Chronicles 1:1).

Enrimmon Reinhabited after the return from the Babylonian Captivity ( Nehemiah 11:29). Probably Ain and Rimmon ( Joshua 15:32).

Enrogel (“fuller’s fountain” ) Spring near Jerusalem, at the junction of the valleys of Jehoshaphat and Hinnom ( Joshua 15:7; 18:16). Jonathan and Ahimaaz hid here ( Samuel 17:17). Adonijah held a feast here, by the stone Zoheleth; his first and last attempt on the crown ( 1 Kings 1:9). Josephus (Antiquities vii. 14, sec. 4; 9:10, sec. 4) mentions the royal gardens. The well is 125 feet deep, walled up square with large stones, and arched over. It overflows underground most of the time, over the top only a little while in the rainy season. “It is a singular work of ancient enterprise” (Thomson, Land and Book, ii. 528).

Enshemesh (“spring of the sun” ) Landmark on the north of Judah ( Joshua 15:7). The only spring now known east of the Mount of Olives is the Well of the Apostles, so called because it is supposed that Christ and his apostles rested there often, about a mile east of Bethany. The sun shines on the spring all day long.

Ensign . Several Hebrew words are so rendered: nes , an elevated signal, not a military standard, having on it a device, emblem or inscription, as “Jehovah nissi” ( Exodus 12:15); the pole on which the brazen serpent was lifted is so called ( Numbers 21:8), which was an ensign of deliverance. degel was the standard given to each of the four divisions (see ) of the Israelite host in the Wilderness ( Numbers 1:52). The Egyptian banners had on them sacred emblems — as a boat, an animal, a bird, or the king’s name. The Hebrew banners are described by the Rabbis as follows: Judah, a lion; Reuben, a man; Ephraim, an ox; Dan, an eagle. It is more probable that each tribe and each company in a tribe had a particular ensign for its own use — as a figure or inscription. The Romans made images on their standards of certain gods and of deified men, which they worshiped. The Assyrian standards were very similar to those represented here as Egyptian and Roman.

Ensue In 1 Peter 3:11, ensue means to follow after and overtake — a meaning now obsolete.

Entappuah (“citron-spring” ) Boundary of Manasseh, near Shechem ( Joshua 17:7). .

Entreat . . To be entreated means in Scripture to be persuaded, as in 1 Chronicles 5:20; Isaiah 19:22, etc.

Epaenetus (“praised”) Disciple at Rome, mentioned in Romans 16:5, as the first fruit of Asia unto Christ. Tradition says he was first bishop of Carthage.

Epaphras (“lovely” ) Paul’s assistant at Colossae ( Colossians 1:7), of which he was a native, and very kind to Paul, who was in prison in Rome.

Epaphroditus (“favored by Venus” ) A disciple at Philippi, who was sent to Paul at Rome with contributions ( Philippians 2:25). He preached in North Greece and Macedonia. Ephah (“darkness” ) 1. Son of Midian ( Genesis 25:4; Isaiah 40:6,7). There is a town in Arabia, near Bilbeys, called Gheyfer (ja-fer), which is supposed to be Ephah. 2. Woman in Caleb’s family, in the line of Judah ( 1 Chronicles 2:46). 3. Son of Johdai, in the same line ( 1 Chronicles 2:47). 4. .

Ephai (“weary” ) (“languid”) Of Netopha, whose sons were officers left in Judah during the Captivity ( Jeremiah 40:8). Killed with Gedaliah by Ishmael ( Jeremiah 41:3 — compare Jeremiah 40:13). Ishmael 6.

Epher (“calf” ) 1. Son of Midian ( Genesis 25:4). The Arabs have a town named Ghifr (jiffer, a calf), but trace to Amalek and Ishmael, and not to Midian. 2. Son of Ezra, of Judah, in Caleb’s line ( 1 Chronicles 4:17). 3. Chief in Manasseh, east of the Jordan River ( 1 Chronicles 5:24).

Ephes-Dammim (“end of blood” ) Between Socoh and Azekah, where the Philistines encamped the evening before David slew Goliath ( 1 Samuel 17:1). ( Chronicles 11:13).

Ephesian Trophimus, the Ephesian ( Acts 21:29).

Ephesians Citizens of Ephesus, who worshiped Diana ( Acts 19:28, etc.). The Epistle to the Ephesians is described in the . Ephesus About the middle of the west of Asia Minor, opposite the island of Samos. The capital of Asia, which province under the Romans included only the west part of the peninsula. Built partly on hills and partly on the plain. The climate was excellent. The country around the city was very fertile, and its position most convenient for traffic with other regions of the Levant. In the time of Augustus it was the great metropolis of this section of Asia Minor. Paul’s journeys indicate the facilities for travel by sea and land. The harbor was elaborately constructed, and at its head stood the famous temple of Diana. The first temple was burned on the night Alexander the Great was born; the second, which stood in Paul’s time, was built by the contributions of all Asia: 425 feet long by 220 wide, with 127 marble columns, each 60 feet high. Built in the Ionic order, perfected here first. The magnificence of this great temple was a proverb throughout the world. Here the people held an “uproar” against Paul for two hours ( Acts 19:23. ). Public games were held in the month of May, which was sacred to Diana, and Paul was probably there at that time ( Corinthians 16:8). Plutarch mentions the charms and amulets which were made and sold here, and accounts of faith in their value reach as far down as the 6th century. The coins of Ephesus have many allusions to the Diana worship. Josephus says the Jews were numerous there. Disciples of John the Baptist were found here after the ascension of Christ ( Acts 18:25; 19:3). Paul established a church here, of which Timothy was at one time the head. It is supposed that John the Divine wrote his Gospel and Epistles here; the Apocalypse being written on Patmos. Ephesus was one of the seven churches, and is named first; and its “candlestick” has been removed surely, for all is desolation now where the city once stood. The fine columns have been carried to other cities, chiefly Constantinople and Italy. Ruins cover the hills and a swamp the plain. There is a tradition that the mother of Jesus was buried here, and also Timothy and John. There is now a railroad from Smyrna to Aidin, with a station near the ruins of Ephesus, called Aysaluk (a-sa-look, “city of the moon”). The whole district covered by the ancient city and suburbs are now desolate. The map was copied from one constructed on the spot by Prof. Eddy, 1870. , , .

Ephlal (“judgment” ) Son of Zabad ( 1 Chronicles 2:37), in the tribe of Judah.

Ephod ( 1 ) (“girded on” ) Part of the high priest’s dress — the peculiar badge of his office.

Ephod ( 2 ) (“oracle-giving” ) Father of Hanniel, chief in Manasseh ( Numbers 34:23). Ephraim (“double fruitfulness” ) Second son of Joseph by his wife Asenath. Blessed by Jacob above his older brother, Manasseh (Genesis 48). Joshua, the son of Nun, was of Ephraim. The portion of Ephraim in Canaan was 55 miles from east to west and 70 miles from north to south in extent; elevated, hilly, and having the plain of Sharon, a narrow strip, on the west, Esdraelon on the north, and the Jordan River valley on the east, in the center of the country, the whole called Mount Ephraim ( 1 Samuel 1:1; 7:17; 2 Chronicles 13; 15:8). It had the “precious things of the earth, and the fullness thereof,” as blessed by Moses. The finest and most fruitful of all the land. Afterward called Samaria. Its wealth and importance were increased by the presence of the Ark of the Covenant and the Tabernacle at Shiloh within its borders. The people were jealous, and at enmity with the tribe of Judah from the time of David. Very few attempts to conquer Ephraim were ever made, and Shalmaneser only succeeded through the internal divisions of the kingdom of Samaria (721 B.C. ; ). 2. A city on a hill northeast of Jerusalem,10 miles . 3. A forest east of the Jordan River, near Mahanaim, where Absalom was caught by his hair in a tree and killed, when fighting against his father David, the king ( 2 Samuel 18:6).

Ephrain ( 2 Chronicles 13:19). Supposed to be Ophrah. Ephraim, the Gate of . Ephraim, Mount This means the whole hill country of the district between the Jordan River and the plain of Sharon. Ephraim, the Wood of Ephraimite Ephrathite ( Judges 12:5), of Ephraim Ephratah, Ephrath The ancient name of Bethlehem. Ephratites, cities of Bethlehem-Judah ( Ruth 1:2). The second wife of Caleb, the son of Hezrom, mother of Hur, and grandmother of Caleb the spy, was named Ephrath ( Chronicles 2:19), Ephratah in verse 50. Caleb-ephratah in verse 24. Ephron ( 1 ) (“fawn” ) Son of Zohar (Hebrew: zochar ), a Hittite, who sold the field to Abraham ( Genesis 23:8, etc.). Ephron ( 2 ) east of the Jordan River, a strong city between Carnaim and Bethshah (1 Macc. 5:46-52; 2 Macc. 16:27). Lost. Ephron, Mount Cities of, were landmarks ( Joshua 15:9). Said to be Ain Lifta (Nephtoah), and Kuriet el Enab (Kirjath-Jearim).

Epicureans Disciples and followers of the philosopher Epicurus (lived B.C. 342-271), who taught at Athens. He tried to find in philosophy a practical guide to happiness. True pleasure, and not absolute truth, was his aim. He endeavored to remove superstitious fears, and made the study of physics (nature) useful for the good of mankind. Epicurus was a follower of Diogenes Laertius. His system had degenerated into mere materialism at the time when Paul was at Athens ( Acts 17:18). The Stoics were their opponents; who were named from a portico (Greek: stoa ) in which the philosopher Zeno taught, at Athens, a system of ethics based on pride, as Christianity is on humility. This school taught the Fatherhood of God, the common bonds of mankind, and the sovereignity of the soul. Christianity was a practical union of the two schools of Epicureans and Stoics. The same ideas among the Jews produced the sect of Sadducees. The teaching of the Hebrew patriarchs and prophets was independent of any system of philosophy, and it is curious that Greek philosophy arose just after the Hebrew prophets closed their oracles, Malachi being cotemporary with Socrates.

Epiphanes (1 Macc. 9) Epiphi The 11th month of the Egyptian year, the third of the “season of waters,” inundation. Named from the goddess Apapt. The Hebrews derived from this their name Abib, the 1st sacred, and the 7th civil month in their calendar. Epistles .

Equal Means to make equal in Lamentations 2:13.

Er (“watchful” ) 1. First-born of Judah, son of Bath-Shuah, a Canaanite. He married Tamar, who became mother of Pharez and Zarah by Judah. He probably sinned by idolatry (prompted by his wife ?) ( Genesis 38:3-7). 2. In the line of Judah, son of Shelah ( 1 Chronicles 4:21). 3. Son of Jose, a cotemporary with king Uzziah ( Luke 3:28).

Era The Era of Jesus Christ is dated four years too late, and was fixed by the Abbot Dionysius Exiguus, in the 6th century, so that the true date would be now not 1878 but 1882.

Eran Son of Shuthelah, and ancestor of the Eranites.

Eranites Descendants of Eran ( Numbers 26:36). Erastus (“beloved” ) 1. Chamberlain of Corinth, and a disciple ( Romans 16:23). He was with Paul on some of his journeys ( Acts 19:23), and probably settled at Corinth ( 2 Timothy 4:20). 2. A deacon in the church at Ephesus. Supposed to be different from No. 1.

Erech Land of Shinar. Built by Nimrod ( Genesis 10:10). Now Irak, 43 miles east of Babylon. The place seems to have been the metropolis of the Assyrian kings, mounds and the remains of bricks and coffins being found through a wide district. People from this city were transplanted to Samaria by Asnapper ( Ezra 4:9). See Rawlinson’s Five Great Monarchies.

Eres Hebrew word for a species of pine. .

Eri (“watching” ) Son of Gad ( Genesis 46:16).

Erites Branch of the tribe of Gad, from Eri ( Numbers 26:16).

Esaias The Greek form of the Hebrew Isaiah (Isaiahu ), ( Matthew 3:3, etc).

Esar-Haddon (“fire-given” ) King of Assyria, son of Sennacherib ( 2 Kings 19:37). He first appears in history B.C. 680, as king, after his father’s murder ( Isaiah 37:38). The monuments exhibit him as one of the most powerful of the Assyrian kings, conquering all Asia, from the Persian Gulf to the mountains in Armenia, and the Mediterranean Sea. He is the only Assyrian king who dwelt (a part of the time) at Babylon, where bricks are found bearing his name. It is while living there (B.C. 680-667), that Manasseh, king of Judah, was brought before him at Babylon ( 2 Chronicles 33:11). He proved his great clemency by restoring Manasseh to his throne in Jerusalem, and by giving territory on the Persian Gulf to a son of Merodach-Baladan, whom he had conquered, and who submitted to him and became a refugee at his court. He was a builder of great works, such as his palace at Babylon, and three others, in different cities, for himself and his son; and one inscription mentions thirty temples in Assyria and Mesopotamia. These works were ornamented highly with silver and gold. The palace at Nimroud is the best preserved of any. Mr. Layard found its plan to agree quite closely with that of Solomon’s palace ( 1 Kings 7:1-12), but much larger, the great hall being 220 by 100 feet, and the porch 160 by 60. The sculptures were winged bulls, sphinxes and slabs, most of which were almost destroyed by fire. It is believed that Phoenician and Greek artists were employed as assistants on these works. His son, Asshur-banipal, succeeded him ( ). Esau (Hebrew: Esau, “hairy” ) Oldest son of Isaac, twin of Jacob. The bitter enmity of the two brothers, and the strife between the two nations derived from them, were foreshadowed even in the womb ( Genesis 25:22-27). Esau was a robust, active, real Bedawy, “son of the desert,” and was loved for his wild, roaming disposition, but his brother, Jacob was more crafty, and, succeeding in buying his birthright for a dinner (“mess of pottage,” Genesis 25:34), Esau attempted to get from his blind father the blessing belonging to the firstborn, and which he had sold to Jacob, but Jacob again was too crafty for his brother, and succeeded in deceiving Isaac, and received the blessing. From this time he was called Edom (“red”), which was given to the country that he afterward lived in. At the age of 40 he married, against the will of his parents, two Canaanite women. Jacob was sent to Padan-aram, out of the way of Esau, who took another wife, Mahalath, his cousin, daughter of Ishmael ( Genesis 28:8,9). He then went to Mount Seir, where he was living when Jacob returned from Padanaram, and had become rich and powerful. The brothers met on the east of the Jordan River, when Jacob again acted in a double-faced way, and parted to meet again only at the side of their dead father, twenty years after, at Machpelah. From this time he lived in Mount Seir, but nothing is recorded of his later history. , .

Eschew To flee from, as used in Job 1:1,8; 2:3; 1 Peter 3:11. Obsolete.

Esdraelon The Greek name of Jezreel (Judith 3:9), the Great Plain of Josephus, the valley of Megiddo. It is very rich in soil, lying on a volcanic basalt, but there is not an inhabited village in its whole extent, which is triangular, 18, 15, by 12 miles, on the three sides. See Map. It is noted for the number and importance of the battles fought on its surface. “Warriors from every nation have pitched their tent in the plain of Esdraelon.” The names Deborah, Barak, Gideon, Josiah, Holofernes, Vespasian, the Crusaders, Saracens, Turks, and French, give a hint of the events which have made the valley memorable.

Esdras 1. The form of Ezra in the Apocrypha. 2. The books of Esdras. See the .

Esek (“strife” ) Well dug in the valley in Gerar ( Genesis 26:20) by the herdsmen of Isaac.

Eshbaal (“baal’s man” ) ? Fourth son of Saul ( 1 Chronicles 8:33).

Eshban (“wise hero” ) . A Horite, son of Dishon ( Genesis 36:26).

Eshcol (“cluster” ) Valley northwest of Hebron, visited by the spies who were sent by Moses from Kadesh Barnea, from which place they brought away a huge cluster of grapes, so remarkable as to name it the valley of the cluster ( Numbers 13:24). The valley was named from Eshcol, the brother of Mamre, the Amorite, in Abraham’s time ( Genesis 14:13,24).

Eshean Judah, near Hebron ( Joshua 15:52). Lost.

Eshek A Benjamite, descendant of Saul, founder of a noted family of archers ( 1 Chronicles 8:39).

Eshkalonites Citizens of Ashkelon ( Joshua 13:3).

Eshtaol Judah, in the Shefelah, allotted to Daniel The residence, during his youth, of Samson; and here he was buried ( Judges 13:25; 16:31). Some of the Danites who were sent to look for a new home in the north were from Eshtaol ( Judges 18:2,8,11). Lost. In the time of Jerome it was said to lie between Azotus and Ascalon, and named Astho; and another, named Esthaul, 10 miles north of Eleutheropolis, probably near the present Yeshua.

Eshtaulites Among the citizens of Kirjath-Jearim ( 1 Chronicles 2:53).

Eshtemoa (“women of note” ) 1. Judah, in the mountains ( Joshua 15:50; 1 Chronicles 6:57). Frequented by David ( 1 Samuel 30:28). Now Semna, 7 miles south of Hebron. Founded by the descendants of the Egyptian wife of Mered ( Chronicles 4:17). 2. Name of a person in 1 Chronicles 4:19, as a Maachathite.

Eshton (“uxorious” ) In the line of Judah ( 1 Chronicles 4:11).

Esli Son of Naggai, father of Naum ( Luke 3:25).

Esora Perhaps Hazor or Zorah. Fortified by the Jews on the approach of Holofernes ( Judges 4:4). Possibly Bethhoron.

Espousal .

Esrom In the geneology of Jesus ( Matthew 1:8; Luke 3:33). Essenes Josephus says they combined the ascetic virtues of the Pythagoreans and Stoics with a spiritual knowledge of the Divine Law, and arose about B.C. Their chief city was Engedi (Pliny). The name is supposed to mean “silent”, “mysterious” or “pious” (Dr. Ginsburg). The origin of the party was rather in a certain tendency of religious thought among all classes toward an ideal purity. Special doctrines had for their object a life of absolute purity and divine communion. Next to God, Moses was honored; the Sabbath was carefully kept; food was eaten only when prepared by their own members, and never cooked on the Sabbath; and they practiced self-denial, temperance, and agriculture. Slavery, war, and commerce were forbidden. They were very regular in their devotions; before sunrise they began their prayer and praise; said grace before and after meals; ate from only one kind of food at a meal; disallowed oaths, holding truth to be sacred; held all things in common. Their system was a compound of mystical and ceremonial elements. The applicant for membership was obliged to live a year outside of the order, but keeping its rules (?), having received as badges an ax, a white apron, and a white dress. One year more he would share in the ablutions but not in the meals. After two more years he was admitted to full membership, solemnly binding himself to piety to God, justice to men, to hate the wicked, assist the righteous, injure no one, speak the truth, avoid robbery and theft, and keep the rules and secrets of the society. Some of their rules were: 1. To bathe, if touched by a stranger, or a lower grade of their own order, and before and after meals, and other natural acts; not to spit in an assembly, and if so not on the right side; the social meal was a sacrament. 1. Baptisms produced bodily purity, which led to 2. celibacy, and 3. spiritual purity, and 4. to a meek and lowly spirit, banishing all anger and malice, thus reaching 5. holiness, arriving at 6. a state wherein he is a Holy Temple for the Holy Spirit, and could prophesy, and advancing to 7. could perform miraculous cures, raising the dead, attaining finally to the lofty state of Elias, the forerunner of the Messiah, and no longer subject to death. Jesus alludes to the Essenes in Matthew 5:34, “swear not at all,” and in 19:12, “who abstain from marriage for the kingdom of heaven’s sake,”, and Paul in 1 Corinthians 7, which is hardly intelligible without a knowledge of the tenets of the Essenes, and by James in 5:12, and the first church held all things in common as they did ( Acts 4:32-34). Their number was never larger than 4000. See Josephus and Eusebius. They disappeared after the destruction of Jerusalem, and are not heard of again although various orders of monks follow more or less strictly their rules and practices.

Esther (“the planet” , , , , meaning “good fortune” ). The Persian form of the Hebrew name Hadassah (“a myrtle”). She was daughter of Abihail, son of Shimei, a Benjamite, cousin of Mordecai. Her parents did not return from captivity, but died, leaving her in care of her relative (cousin?) Mordecai. The Persian king having divorced his queen, Vashti (a beauty), for contempt, the royal choice fell on Esther, after passing many others by. In this position she delivered her people, who were still very numerous, from a threatened calamity, which was the origin of the yearly feast of Purim. , Esther and Apocrypha.

Etam ( 1 ) (“place of wild beasts” ) 1. Simeon ( 1 Chronicles 4:32). 2. Judah; fortified and garrisoned by Rehoboam ( 2 Chronicles 11:6). Near Bethlehem and Tekoah.

Etam ( 2 ) (“the rock” ) To which Samson retired after his slaughter of the Philistines ( Judges 15:8,11). Probably in the valley of Urtas. Eternal (Hebrew: olam, “hidden”, “time long past”, and of future “to the end” ). Eternity (Hebrew: ad ), only once, in Isaiah 57:15, meaning “duration in time”.

Ethan ( 1 ) (“limit of the sea” ) Station in the Exodus, near the Red Sea, east.

Ethan ( 2 ) (“firmness” ) 1. The Ezrahite, son of Mahal, a wise man, only excelled by Solomon ( Kings 4:31; Psalm 89). 2. Son of Kish, a Levite in David’s time ( 1 Chronicles 6:44). Played cymbals with Heman and Asaph ( 1 Chronicles 15:17,19). 3. Levite ancestor of Asaph, the singer ( 1 Chronicles 6:42).

Ethanim Ethbaal (“with Baal” ) A king of Sidon, father of Jezebel ( 1 Kings 16:31). Josephus said he was king of Tyre and Sidon. Menander says that Ithobalus, a priest of Astarte, killed Pheles and usurped the throne, reigning 32 years, B.C. 940- 908.

Ether (“abundance” ) Judah, in the Shefelah (Josh 15:42), in Simeon. Now Attarah near Geza. Ethiopia (“burnt” ) The country called in Hebrew Cush . South of Egypt, from Syene ( Ezekiel 29:10). Libyan desert west, Abyssinian highland east and south. The Hebrews traded with Ethiopia ( Isaiah 45:14) in ebony, ivory, frankincense, gold and precious stones ( Job 28:19; Josephus, Antiquities viii. 6, section 5). Settled by a Hamitic race ( Genesis 10:6), dark ( Jeremiah 13:23), men of stature ( Isaiah 18:2), and fine-looking (38:7). The Sabaeans were the most noted tribe. There are ruins of many temples in Ethiopia built during the reigns of the Hyksos kings of Egypt. Queen Candace is mentioned in Acts 8:27. The official title of the queen was , and there was a line of queens who governed the country about the time of Christ, who successfully resisted even the Romans.

Ethiopian (Hebrew: Cushite ). Black man ( Jeremiah 13:23). Zereh ( 2 Chronicles 14:9) and Ebedmelech ( Jeremiah 38:7, etc.), were Ethiopians.

Ethiopian Woman Wife of Moses. A ( Numbers 12:1). She is also said to be a Midianite, and so supposed to be a second wife. Ethiopians In several passages meaning .

Ethiopic Version , page 4.

Ethnan (“gift” ) Son of Hela, the wife of Ashur ( 1 Chronicles 4:7).

Ethni (“giving” ) Ancestor of Asaph ( 1 Chronicles 6:41).

Eubulus (“prudent” ) Disciple at Rome ( 2 Timothy 4:21).

Euergetes (“benefactor” ) Title of honor among the Greeks. Two of the Ptolemies were so honored — Ptolemy III and VII.

Eumenes (“friendly” ) Eumenes II, king of Pergamus, succeeded his father, Attalus I, B.C. 197. He served the Romans against the Greeks in the battle of Magnesia (B.C. 190), for which he was rewarded with the provinces of Mysia, Lydia, Ionia, Phrygia, Lycaonia and Thracian Chersonese. Died probably B.C. (1 Macc. 8:8).

Eunice (“victorious” ) Mother of Timothy ( 2 Timothy 1:5); a disciple of pure faith ( Acts 16:1). Eunuch (Hebrew: sarus ). Officer, chamberlain. The word indicates the incapacity which certain mutilation produces — a practice contrary to the law in Deuteronomy 23:1. The origin of the custom is ascribed to queen Semiramis, but is probably as old as Eastern despotism itself, which delights in servants who excite no jealousy. It is supposed that the prophet Daniel and his companions were so treated, because it was so prephesied ( 2 Kings 20:17). The was probably an officer of the queen, perhaps a Jew.

Euodia (“good journey”) Disciple, a woman of Philippi ( Philippians 4:2). Euphrates (“the good river” ) Now called Frat. Called in Scripture “the river”. The largest, longest, and most important river in west Asia. Rises in the mountains of Armenia, near Erzeroum and Mount Ararat. Of two branches: one is called Frat, and Black River (Kara su), and is 400 miles long; the other, Murad Chai (chief), 270 miles long; and both unite at Kebban Meden, in a stream feet wide, and from this point to the Persian Gulf it is 1,000 miles making in all nearly 1,800 miles, 1,200 of which is navigable for steamers. Nebuchadnezzar dug canals carry the water of the annual inundation across the wide plains of Chaldea. Herodotus describes the river and its traffic (i. 185). First mentioned in Genesis 15:18, in the description of the promised land ( Deuteronomy 1:7; 11:24; Josh 1:4). Fulfilled partially by Reuben ( 1 Chronicles 5:9), and completely by David ( <19D701> Psalm 137:1).

Eupolemus (“good warrior” ) Son of John the son of Accos, Koz ( Nehemiah 3:4, etc.). Envoy sent to Rome by Judas, about B.C. 161 (1 Macc. 8:17). He was a well-known historian, mentioned by Eusebius and Josephus.

Euroclydon Name of a wind from a certain quarter ( Acts 27:14). .

Eutychus (“fortunate” ) The youth who was resuscitated by Paul after having fallen out of a window at Troas ( Acts 20:9). Evangelist (“publisher of glad tidings” ) An order of men in the Christian Church. They were not attached to any particular locality, but worked wherever there was a field, by preaching or writing. Philip ( Acts 21:8), and Timothy ( 2 Timothy 4:5), and the four, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John are examples. Eve (Hebrew: chavvah, “living” ) Name of the first woman. It is the feminine form of the noun which means “life”. There are two accounts of her creation in Genesis. 1. Genesis 1:27: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them;” 2. Genesis 2:18: “And the Lord God said `It is not good that the man should be alone,’“ (his creation is noticed in Genesis 1:7), “`I will make him a help meet for him.’“ Then, in Genesis 1:19,20, is the account of the creation of the beasts, and that among them there was not found a help meet for Adam. Genesis 1:21-25, give the account of Eve’s formation out of the rib of Adam. The story — or two stories — may mean simply that God holds both man and woman equal in duty and accountability, and one in nature and origin. Eve is not mentioned after the birth of Seth, and her death is not recorded.

Evening .

Ever, and Forever Eternal. Eternity. The whole period.

Evi (“desire” ) Prince of Midian ( Numbers 31:8).

Evidence In Jeremiah 32:10, etc., means bill of sale, in the prophet’s petition; purchase of a field. This symbolic act meant that though desolation must come, God’s promise was sure, and houses, fields and vineyards should again be possessed in Palestine by the Hebrews. Evil Merodach (“Merodak’s fool” ) Son and successor of Nebuchadnezzar, B.C. 561; murdered and succeeded by Neriglissar, B.C. 559. Joachin was kindly treated by him ( 2 Kings 25:27). The historian Berosus says that his change of policy from severe to mild caused his death by the violent men of his party. Evil Spirit Devil. Excellency of Carmel ( Isaiah 35:2 ). .

Excellent Surpassing ( Daniel 2:31). Excellent glory ( 2 Peter 1:17). “Most excellent” was a title of rank and honor given to Theophilus ( Luke 1:3), and to Felix ( Acts 23:23; 24:3); and to Festus ( Acts 26:25).

Exchangers Money changers ( Matthew 25:27).

Excommunication Putting one out of church society. The Jews had three modes: 1. For twenty-four minor offenses an offender was under niddui . Keeping a fierce dog, swearing, etc., were instances. The penalty was to abstain from the use of the bath, the razor, wine, etc., and to keep at 6 feet (4 cubits) distance from everyone. He could not worship in the temple in the usual manner, and this lasted 30 days. 2. The second was cherem . He could not teach or be taught to work for or buy any object not intended for food. 3. The shammatha , an entire cutting off from the congregation. Moses did not make this law, but the natural right of societies for self-preservation gave rise to it. The cases in Numbers 16 (of Korah, etc.), Judges 5:23 (Meroz), Ezra 7:26; 10:8; Exodus 30:33, and Leviticus 13:46; 17:4, are precedents. One instance is recorded in the New Testament, John 9, of the young man who confessed that Jesus was the Christ. The fear of the result prevented some from such a confession ( John 12:42). The blessing in Luke 6:22, refers to the three forms of this law. The excommunication founded by Jesus was to be executed only after due trial, and a settled contempt for the church in refusing to atone for a trespass which the person has committed ( Matthew 18:15-18). The final act of exclusion was to be done only after two warnings. Paul commanded the same ( 1 Timothy 1:20; 1 Corinthians 5:11 Titus 3:10), and frequently used the power. Restoration was possible, and is urged in Corinthians 2:6: The censure of the church was not to include enmity, curses, and persecution, as among some sects, but rather to look upon the excluded “as a pagan and a publican,” that may be brought in again. It is a spiritual penalty, not physical, separating from the communion of the church, aiming to benefit the person and the church, by excluding heresy, immorality, and only put in force by the authority of the church at large (by a vote?) and the sanction of the highest officer, whose sentence was declared in the congregation to which the offender belonged; and that penitence is a condition of restoration, which is to be as public as the exclusion.

Executioner (Hebrew: tabbach, “slaughter” ) The duties were both those of an executioner and of the leader of the bodyguard of the king, as in Egypt ( Genesis 37:36), whose official residence was the prison. It was a post of high dignity. The Septuagint says Potiphar was chief-cook.

Exile .

Exodus (“going out” ) For the book, see . The date of the Exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt, led by Moses, is fixed by different writers: as Poole, B.C. 1652, Hales, 1648, Usher, 1491, Bunsen, 1320. The patriarchal institution ended and the era of the Law began at the Exodus — the family had become a nation. The departure was begun at Raamses (Rameses) in the early morning of the 15th of Nisan, which was from that time called the first month. Three stages brought them to the Red Sea, where they were overtaken by Pharaoh and delivered by Moses, as celebrated in the songs of Moses and Miriam (Exodus 15). The great difficulty in tracing the route of the Israelites from Egypt to Canaan has called out a large number of travelers in our day, who have minutely examined the district (or a part of it, omitting the region of the years wandering, because there are no records from which to form a base of exploration), and from their researches it is “possible by the internal evidence of the country itself to lay down not indeed the actual route of the Israelites in every stage, but in almost all cases, and in some cases the very spots themselves.” The question of the passage of the Red Sea is referred to . was a district on both sides of the north end of the Red Sea. The place of crossing might have been anywhere between Suez and Jebel Atakah, which is a steep, high promontory standing out rate very deep water. (“wall”) is a name for the whole desert from Suez to Beersheba, north of the plain Er Ramleh, also called . The first water found was at (“bitter”), and the rest at (“stags”), where there were twelve fountains, and a kind of desert paradise, among a grove of palm trees. Wady Ghurundel has several fine fountains, a perennial stream, and more trees, shrubs and bushes than any other place in the desert. Here the mountain district begins. The next camp was by the Red Sea, where, in a wild and lonely plain, there is a sublime view of Sinai’s granite peaks on one side, and the blue sea on the other. The is a continuation of this valley on the south, widening into the broadest plain in the whole region. Here they first murmured, and the quails were sent in answer to their cry, and the first fall of manna. and and were probably in the same plain. (“supports”) is located in Wady esh Sheikh, the most spacious valley in this region, and the most fertile. Here the people found no water to drink, and Moses brought water out of a rock ( Exodus 17:5,6). The Amalekites attacked the people, and were routed. Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, visited him here and counseled him. They next pitched in the plain of Rahah (“rest”, Exodus 19) in front of . Jebel Musa (Mount Moses), the Sinai of recent tradition, is in the midst of a group of mountains, and is 7,000 feet high. Katerin is 8,700, and Om Shomer is 9,300 feet high. On the summit of Jebel Musa is a platform nearly 100 feet across, partly covered with ruins, a chapel at the east end, and a small mosque. Ras es Sufsafeh (“peak of the willow”) is the Sinai of many scholars, because from it the plain can be seen, and every other requirement of the text answered, and every incident illustrated by the features of the surrounding district. They stayed almost a year at Sinai. While Moses was on the mount, receiving the two tables, Aaron (his brother) made a calf of gold, probably in imitation of the Egyptians. Aaron’s sons offered strange fire (Leviticus 10), and were destroyed, and the second Passover was held. On leaving Sinai a certain order of march and of camping was adopted (Numbers 10), and Hobab was engaged as a guide, to be unto them “instead of eyes” ( Numbers 10:31), as is the custom now in crossing the desert. From Sinai to Kadesh the route cannot be clearly laid down. After three days they pitched in Paran, at a place afterward called (“burning”, Numbers 11:3). Quails were sent here ( Numbers 11:31), the people suffered from a plague after eating them, and the place was named a second time (“graves of lust”, Numbers 11:33). The next station, , has been identified with Ain Hudherah, a little fountain in a wild, dreary waste, among naked hills,40 miles from Sinai. The place was noted for the foolish rebellion of Miriam and Aaron (Numbers 12). The fountain of El Ain, north of Hudherah, is the most important wateringplace in the district. The next station that can be located is See EZION- GEBER , at the head of the Gulf of Akabah. Between this station and Kadesh, in the Arabah, there were many stations, and, as appears from the two accounts in Numbers 33, and in Deuteronomy 2:8; 10:6, they wandered up and down the valley several times. (“holy”), next to Sinai, was the most important of all the resting-places in the wilderness. From here the twelve spies were sent into the promised land, and from Kadesh the rebellious people were turned back into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea ( Deuteronomy 1:40) to wander for 38 years. And when they attempted to go up (by the pass Es Sufah) against the command of the Lord, they were defeated at Hormah with disgrace and slaughter ( Numbers 14:40). Of the “great and terrible wilderness” of the wandering not one station is recorded, nor even a hint of its locality, and the only events noticed are (besides the ceremonial law) the execution of the man who gathered sticks on the Sabbath day (Numbers 15), the rebellion of Korah (Numbers 16), and (either during that time or soon after) the writing of the ninetieth Psalm by Moses. The great desert from Akabah to Gaza, is now called Et Tyh (the wandering), and it may be the very region; but having no names to locate or compare, there is nothing left us but conjecture. They visited Kadesh a second time, where Miriam, the sister of Moses, died and was buried ( Numbers 20:1). Moses brought water out of the rock, and the people and their beasts drank. Their flocks had survived through 38 years. Then they sent messengers to the king of Edom, asking permission to pass through his country, and making the fairest proposals, but they were denied their request ( Numbers 20:14). They then left Kadesh and moved to Mount Hor, where their first high priest, Aaron, died and was buried, and Eleazar his son was invested with the “holy garments” and the office of his father. . The next place that is identified is the pass through the east wall of the Arabah, up into the Arabian desert — Wady Ithm — by the way of the Red Sea (to compass the land of Edom, Numbers 21:4). Here the fiery serpents were sent, killing many; and the brazen serpent was set up, which became type of the greater salvation. was reached, and then the willow brook ( ), and soon also the , and they were out of the desert. Sihon, king of the Amorites, opposed their advance, and Israel smote him, and posessed his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok. They next conquered Og, the king of . His “giant cities” are still standing, deserted but not ruined, all over the vast plain of the Hauran. The king of Moab sent the prophet Baalam to curse Israel as they were encamped in the plains of Moab, and he blessed them, but laid a snare which caught them, and caused the loss of thousands of lives ( Numbers 31:16). Moses numbered the people in the plain of Moab, and found 601,730 men above the age of 20 (being only 1,820 less than the number at Sinai, years before), and of all these only three were among those who came out of Egypt, all the rest having fallen in the desert ( Numbers 14:29), leaving only Moses, Caleb and Joshua. After looking at the land from the heights of Nebo, Moses died, and was buried (by the Lord), “but no man knoweth of his sepulchre” ( Deuteronomy 34:6). With his death the wanderings ended.

Exorcism The formal ejection of evil spirits from persons or places. Those who do this are called . This pretense is usually accompanied with incantations and magical arts of various kinds, and was common to all nations of antiquity (Josephus, Antiquities viii. 2,5, Wars, vii. 6, 3). Jesus implied that such a power did exist, and might be used after peculiar preparation ( Matthew 12:27; Luke 9:49). There was an order of exorcists in the Christian church in the 3rd century, which led to a great increase of superstition, fraud, and imposture. Some introduced forms of exorcism into baptism, saying, “as the soul before baptism is in bondage to the devil, so at baptism it should be formally released from the evil spirit.” The priest was instructed to breathe three times on the face of the subject, and say, Depart from him, foul spirit — give place to the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete. Then another breathing on the face, with the words, Receive the Holy Spirit. The order still is in the Roman ritual. It was originally practiced by the Lutherans, but it is now disused. John wrote his Gospel in Asia, where medical science was advanced, and he seems to have known that the diseases attributed to demons were merely natural diseases, for he nowhere mentions possessions of evil spirits, except as being spoken of by Jews, whom he is reporting.

Expiation Sacrifice. . Eye (Hebrew: ayin ). Used as a symbol of many objects and ideas. Among the Hebrews a few uses were: 1. A fountain, or spring (ain ). 2. Color ( Numbers 11:7; Proverbs 23:31). 3. Face; as in eye to eye (face to face), ( Numbers 14:14,). 4. Look, as in Song of Solomon 4:9. 5. “In the eyes, means in his presence or in his judgment ( Genesis 19:8; 29:20; 2 Samuel 10:3). 6. “To set eyes on one,” is to look with favor ( Job 24:23), and also to express anger ( Amos 9:8). 7. Evil eye ( Matthew 20:15); wanton eyes, etc. In Zechariah 4:10, God’s angels are “his eyes,” and in Persia the ministers of state are “the king’s eyes.” In the East servants watch the bands of their master, receiving orders and directions by motion of the hand. is an ancient practice among Orientals, and referred to in Kings 9:30, where Jezebel is spoken of as “painting her eyes,” not “face,” in Jeremiah 4:30, where “rending the face,” means “painting the eyes,” and by Ezekiel in 23:40. Lane says, of painting eyes: “Their charming effect is much heightened by the concealment of the other features (however pleasing they may be) and is rendered still more striking by a practice, universal among the females of the higher and middle classes, and very common among those of the lower orders, which is, blackening the edge of the eyelids, both above and below the eyes, with a black powder called “kohl”. The paint is made by burning a resin and catching the smoke on glass or any hard substance. Almond shells also make good black smoke. The black is moistened with rose-water. The ancient sculptures show the antiquity of the practice.

Ez Hebrew word for she-goat, and in some passages also he-goat.

Esbai (“shining” ) Father of Naarai, one of David’s chiefs ( 1 Chronicles 11:37). Ezbon (“working” ) 1. Son of Gad ( Genesis 46:16); 2. Son of Bela ( 1 Chronicles 7:7).

Ezekiel (Hebrew: yehezekel, “God will strengthen” ) One of the four greater prophets. Son of Buzi, a priest, and carefully educated. We know that he was in captivity because his prophesy is dated on the banks of the river Chebar, in the 5th year of Jehoiachin’s captivity. Josephus gives other particulars. His age is not known. It is supposed, from several concurring allusions in his writings, that he was twenty-five when carried to Assyria a captive, and thirty at the time he wrote his first prophesy. He was energetic, earnest, spiritually minded. He prophesied twenty years, B.C. 595-575, ending with the 14th year after the last deportation from Judaea. The first 8 years were cotemporary with Jeremiah. , for the .

Ezel ( 1 Samuel 20:19 ). Where David parted from Jonathan.

Ezem Simeon ( 1 Chronicles 4:29; Joshua 19:3).

Ezer (“treasure” ) 1. Horite duke, in the line of Seir ( Genesis 36:21; 1 Chronicles 1:42; Ezer in 1 Chronicles 1:38). 2. Father of Hushah, in the line of Judah ( 1 Chronicles 4:4). 3. Son of Ephraim ( 1 Chronicles 7:21). 4. Gadite, who joined David ( 1 Chronicles 12:9). 5. Levite, who repaired the wail under Nehemiah ( Nehemiah 3:19). 6. Priest, assisting Nehemiah ( Nehemiah 12:42).

Ezion-Geber (“giant’s backbone” ) At the head of the eastern arm of the Red Sea. Now Akabah ( Numbers 33:35; Deuteronomy 2:8; 1 Kings 9:26; 22:48; 2 Chronicles 8:17). Station of the Exodus. Port for Solomon’s fleet. Jehoshaphat’s fleet was broken here ( 2 Chronicles 20:37). Eznite (Hebrew: ezni ). Adine, the Eznite; also called Josheb-bassebet, the Tachmonite ( Samuel 23:8).

Ezra (“help” ) 1. In the line of Judah ( 1 Chronicles 4:17). 2. The famous Scribe and Priest (Esdras in the Apocrypha), son of Seraiah 7 and descendant of Hillkiah 2, high priest in Josiah’s reign ( Ezra 7:1). His history is given partly in Ezra 7—10 and in Nehemiah 8; Nehemiah 12:26,36. His narrative includes 80 years, during which period, in Persia there were Cyrus, Cambyses, Smerdis, Darius Hvstaspis, Xerxes and Artaxerxes Longimanus. The last named gave Ezra men, money and letters of power, and permission to return and rebuild the house at Jerusalem. He collected and revised the books of the Old Testament. Tradition says he died at Babylon (or Zamzumu on the Tigris), aged 120. A tomb is shown as his, 20 miles above the junction of the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers. The works credited to him are: 1. Founding the Great Synagogue; 2. Forming the Canon of the Old Testament; 3. Introduction and use of the Aramaic instead of the Old Hebrew letters; 4. Authorship of Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther. Some also add Ezekiel and Daniel; 5. Institution of Synagogues. 3. Another Ezra was head of one of the 22 courses of priests which returned with Zerubbabel and Joshua. 4. One who assisted at the dedication of the wall ( Nehemiah 12:33). For Book of Ezra, see Ezrahite (“of Ezra”, or “of Zerah” ) A title of Ethan ( 1 Kings 4:31). There is no reason to believe that the Ethan and Heman, authors or singers, mentioned in the titles of the Psalms, are the same as those in 1 Kings. The two passages, in Chronicles and Kings have become mixed. There was no Heman an Ezrahite.